Commentaries from Ardelle on Vayishalach

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Commentaries from Ardelle on Vayishalach

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

Ardelle and Cal

That also through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

Shalom!

This week we read of the Almighty again making contact with Ya’acov as He sends him back to Beth El to set up an altar. It is interesting to read of the preparations that Ya’acov makes –

Bereshith 35:2 And Ya’acov said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. ³ "Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to Elohim, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone." ⁴ So they gave Ya’acov all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Ya’acov hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem. ⁵ And they journeyed, and the terror of Elohim was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Ya’acov.

Ya’acov’s family had obviously been at least partially corrupted by living outside of the Land. The result of putting away their idols, purifying themselves, and changing their garments (likely connected to idol worship) was that “the terror of Elohim was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Ya’acov.”

In returning back to Elohim and His ways, it is a starting point to stay clear of anything that has even a hint of idolatry associated with it –

Acts 15:19 "Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the nations who are turning to Elohim, ²⁰ "but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.

In Colossians we are given a further definition of idolatry –

Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Something to think about….

As mentioned last week, I am sending a picture of our new “watchdog” Belle. I’m sorry - it’s only a picture from my phone. I wanted to give you a glimpse of her ferocious nature!

Shabbat Shalom!

Ardelle